Wireless communication networks face many challenges due to rapid increases in the numbers of network users and the wide-spread use of mobile and other wireless applications.
Network slicing is a technology that has been proposed to enhance flexibility in wireless communication networks. Network slicing allows multiple logical networks to operate using a common underlying infrastructure. Network slicing can reduce costs of deployments, increase the efficiencies of physical infrastructures, and provide flexibility in the types of services that may be offered to different users.
A slice-based communications network can have multiple software-defined core networks, referred to as slices, each of which may be optimized for a different type of service. For example, an LTE (Long-Term Evolution) core network can be provided for 4G (4rd-Generation) LTE services and an IMS (IP Multimedia Subsystem) core network can be provided for multimedia messaging. Generally, network slices can be provided for many different purposes, such as Internet browsing, voice communications, industrial control, home automation, IoT (Internet of Things), etc. Furthermore, different slices may be configured to provide different Qualities of Service (QoS). For example, one core network may be designed for low latency while another core network might be designed to provide fast streaming.